Responding Like God
Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:38-48 (KJV)
We are to respond to the wrongs done to us in the same way God does. We need to live by what Jesus told us to do when mistreated. In order to enforce proper justice, we are to love those who hate us.
When others try to hurt us or steal from us, it should be no big deal. Look to God. He will pay you back to get the devil back. Count anything taken from you as seed sown, and God will give you much more than what was stolen.
Do more than your enemies expect from you. This gives you the upper hand because whatever you give to others, especially those who do you wrong, God will give back to you multiplied times over. This way peopel who try to take advantage of you do not gain the advantage. God will take care of things and makes right the wrongs we suffer. Ultimately God makes the devil pay for messing with His children.
We are to love, bless, and pray for others. God loves sinners. He is even good to sinners. Pray for them. As we do, God uses the exprience to mature us and make us more like Him. And He gives sinners time to repent before they reap the judgment they deserve. But know that God does vindicate His children on those who refuse to turn to Him.
As children of God, He causes us to walk a higher road; the road of love. We are to love others because God does. God will take care of the justice for the things we suffer. It isn’t what others do to us, but how we choose to respond. Will we be like God? Will we love them and treat them right even when they treat us wrong? This is a mark of Christian maturity, of Christlikeness.
We must rely on God to take care of us when others try to cause us to carry cares. Cast your care on God because He cares for you. He can and will take care of it all.
